Xanians
The Xanians (Xanian: Xâkömarī) are a humanoid species native to the Andromeda Galaxy, better known to the Xanians as Ta'Zhevon. Spanning twenty-three other galaxies and unified under the political entity known as the Xanian Empire, the Xanians are an ancient race with a record history more than fifteen million years long. Well known for their rigid caste system and refusal to accept societal change, the Xanians are a major species which has wiped out more than a million other races in the time they have governed their galactic dominions. Having brought to heel countless civilizations, the Xanians are noted for their arrogance and aggressive behavior. Their numbers go well into the hundreds of trillions, and the worlds under their control remain uncounted. Recently, there is more than enough evidence to suggest that the Xanian god, Zhauti, is not only real and living, but is directly responsible for their creation and the many victories they have won throughout their long and violent history. Additionally, there exist other information that suggests the Xanians aren't even from the same dimension. Because of this information, many species who encounter the Xanians don't even consider them the same as life as they know it, and often refer to the Xanians as the "Beyonders" or "Void Wanderers". Regardless of the Xanians' origins, they continue to represent an immediate existential threat to all life as humans and other sapient species know it. Biology and appearance Physiology The Xanians are a humanoid species, similar to humans in terms of physical appearance and internal biology. The Xanians are dark brown in complexion, with black hair of a silky texture, and eyes which have golden, luminescent irises and black scelera surrounding it. In terms of height, Xanian males are about 190 cm (6'2") in height, while Xanian females vary greatly in height based on the caste they were born into. This stems from the fact that 95% of the Xanian population is female, and the manner in which the Xanians reproduce results in the formation of castes, each of which is specialized for a certain responsibility in Xanian society. The lips of female Xanians are coated in a black, oily substance similar to lipstick, and leave some of the black oily residue left on things their lips have touched, much like lipstick itself. It is believed that the substance is purely cosmetic, and has no other function for female Xanians. Additionally, Xanian tears are black and oily, and incredibly poisonous if they come into contact with a non-Xanian. Female Xanians produce these tears routinely as a normal function of their bodies, while male Xanians do not and lack the ability to cry in general. Other interesting facts about the species include are that all Xanians are right-handed and that the most powerful psions are male. Xanian blood is jet black in color, possessing an oily texture to it, and is incredibly acidic as well as toxic to non-Xanians who cannot consume it without suffering from painful internal burns and scarring. The blood of Xanians possess a purely Xanian oxygen-binding protein known as hemombranin, which is responsible for the oil black color of the blood. Hemombranin carries trace amounts of the metal nullium through the blood stream of the Xanians, which may be responsible for the internal bleeding that results from cuts caused by the metal passing through the unprotected systems of non-Xanians. As a race, the Xanians can adapt to practically any known environment in the galaxies under their control, ranging from frigid arctic worlds to hostile toxin worlds, and even lethal radioactive planets closed off to even some of the hardiest species once known to exist by the Xanians. The internal body temperature of the Xanians is about 86ºF (30ºC), though their blood also serves as something of an anti-freeze through processes that have yet to be discovered, allowing the Xanians to survive in far cooler temperatures allowable to other species. As a race, the Xanians are extremophiles, capable of living in some of the harshest environments imaginable. They are classified as a psychrophile, thermoacidophile, oligotroph, xerophile, and radioresistant species. The Xanians mature quickly in terms of their ages relative to that of humans. Xanians mature faster than humans by a factor of three, with a five year old Xanian the equivalent of a fifteen year old human. Xanians reach physical adulthood by the age of seven, at which point their ceases to age. As a race, the Xanians are biologically immortal, meaning that death does not come naturally for them, but any death in the species is either the result of war or accident. As such, Xanians remain in peak physical health throughout their entire lives until they are either killed or die as a result of an accident. With regards to aging once again, men in positions of power may continue to age physically until their facial features alone are similar to that of a forty or fifty year old human male, as such signs of physical aging are considered attractive in a man of power. Such men look like the father-figures that they are, and the wisdom they possess often matches the face of the man it belongs too. The Xanians are a predatory species, as shown in both their behavior, natural abilities, and their biology. The metabolic system of the Xanians is a novel thing, efficient to the extreme and running at a pace that allows a Xanian to eat once or twice a week or more without suffering from starvation and energy loss. Likewise, a Xanian can overeat without suffering from obesity as well, a concept of biology that the Xanians have never known in their own species. However, the calories needed for a Xanian to live a healthy life varies from caste to caste. While a male Xanian has a single number of required calories, female Xanians have several in each caste; a warrior cannot eat what a worker eats and hope to stay strong and active, the number of calories ingested is simply too low. Xanians can consume virtually any type of food or organic object whether or not it is edible or poisonous. Their saliva is incredibly effective at killing bacteria and toxics, and is acidic enough to weaken the connective bonds in an object to allow the Xanian to eat it. Xanians produce an oily substance similar to sweat in function, but odorless and capable of providing UV radiation protection as well as fending against pests and acidic materials. The skeletal system of the Xanians is remarkable in that it is largely metallic in nature. The metal nullium forms the coating of the bones, while the inside of the bones consists of a honeycombed structure almost as strong as steel. Such is the strength of these bones is that a fall from a great height or heavy weights will not break or shattered the effectively reinforced skeleton of a Xanian. Likewise, the Xanians possess claws which are the external tips of their fingerbones. Additionally, the teeth of the Xanians are made up of the same material as the bones themselves. Female claws are longer than those of males, and both genders have pronounced canines at the top and bottom of their mouths. Xanian claws and teeth are both black just like the bones, and are sharp and serrated, never dulling or breaking with age or diet, and serving as perfect natural weapons. Study of the claws and teeth have shown them to be self-sharpening, through means yet unknown. All Xanians possess a one foot long, prehensile tongue, which is black in color and strong enough to grip objects firmly with. The Xanian muscular system is more than five times denser than human muscles, with the end result being that the average Xanian is more than five times as strong as an athletic human in their prime with the same height and build as the Xanian. Additionally, the Xanians possess telescopic vision and a keen sense of smell and hearing, enabling the Xanians to perform as superb hunters without technological assistance. Furthermore, Xanians, especially those of the warrior caste, are capable of tracking their targets for miles with little issue. Immune to most diseases, the Xanians possess an entire organ which is designed to both remember aggressive viruses, but to produce antibodies which can be used not only to fight the virus in their own body, but be passed on to other Xanians to protect their bodies as well. As for waste removal, such in the efficiency of the Xanian digestive tract, that all waste is expelled in liquid form, though the chemicals used to break it down are highly toxic and caustic, with a smell similar to bleach than waste. As a race, Xanians have no solid waste organs. Males lack the rectal orifice found in humans, while females have one which instead a sexual organ rather of a waste removal orifice. Reproduction The Xanians are a unique species in that they are the largest known species which not only reproduces asexually, but reproduces only through the male gender, which by itself warrants scientific interest. All Xanians are technically male, with female Xanians simply being infertile males with many markedly important physical, biological, and behavioral differences, enough so much so to classify them as a different gender. Reproducing via oviparity, the Xanians, though divided into two genders, only procreate through the male gender, with all females of the species being infertile and lacking reproductive function. Externally, male Xanians are no different from human males, possessing the same anatomically similar phallus and external gonads. However, internally, male Xanians possess two major organs which are responsible for the procreative act; the paragus and the canubula. The paragus is the most important of the two organs, as it produces the egg cells which are fertilized by the father. The process of egg production involves the following. Sperm produced by the father is transferred into the paragus, which a conversion process takes place, transforming the sperm cell into a stem cell, and then into an egg cell. After the transformation from sperm cell to egg cell, the egg is moved on into the canubula, which is attached to the paragus and is responsible for holding all the eggs produced by the father. Filled with an embryonic fluid which serves as the nutrition for the eggs, the canubula houses millions of eggs which await fertilization. The entire process from the time the sperm are produced to the time the egg cell is transferred to the canubula happens with a manner of minutes. Performed en masse, a single male is able to produce millions of eggs within a year. When the male wishes to fertilize the eggs, he need only wish the act, as he possess total mental control over his reproductive abilities. A stream of the Xanian hormone, xanogene, is fired into the brain, causing it to order millions of sperm to travel from the testicles to the canubula, where all of the eggs are fertilized. Following this, the father must expel the eggs from his body, which is done through a non-sexual process similar to "point and shoot", where the eggs are deposited into a liquid body to house the eggs until they grow. The eggs themselves grow over a period of three months, during which time they grow from tiny pinhead-sized cells, to large basketball-sized sacks, filled with a semi-luminescent fluid in which the unborn child is suspended. All nutrients needed are leeched through the skin of the egg sack, and transferred into the child through an umbilical cord. The unborn children are entirely sentient and knowledgeable about their surroundings, and the mild psionic abilities they possess allow them to communicate in a somewhat crude manner. Though the father may be away at times, his children will always know who he is instinctively, removing any issue as to who's children are who's during times in which two or more fathers have their children growing in the same crèche-pond together. Because all children hatch from their eggs, Xanian newborns are referred to as hatchlings for the first year of their life. Male Xanians lack nipples, while female Xanians are born with inverted nipples. This has to do with the fact that all Xanians start off as male in their eggs, though only a mere handful will stay that way, with all others becoming female. History Society and culture Caste system The Xanians are organized into a rigid caste system known as the Zhautaza, or the "Order of God", reflecting the Xanians' belief of the caste system's divine origin. Currently, there are six castes, each of which handles a single sphere of Xanian society and development. These castes, by order of their hierarchy within Xanian society are; the zhazhaki (nobles), ionaki (priests), vakorani (warriors), sankari (scientists), mekari (merchants), and zhekani (workers). Each caste is by a caste leader and a council of high-ranking caste members. The caste leader is appointed by the xâruk of the household, while the council members are draw from the caste by the caste leader. All members are born for the caste they are to join, therefore making mobility between castes impossible. It is, however, not unheard of for a member of a high-ranking caste to be ejected from it for particular crimes against the house, and moved into a lower-ranking caste as punishment. However, some members are simply unsuited for certain castes, and thus moved into another instead, example being that a priest can never be a warrior, and a warrior could never be a merchant, while a scientist wouldn't survive the rigors of physical labor that a worker could. All children born into a household are surveyed extensively by the resident scientists assigned to the crèche the children are born in. These scientists are responsible for logging all information on the children they watch over, and then preparing the reports that will play a large role in which sub-caste the children shall be assigned too. As time progresses, the children will come to physically match the sub-caste they belong too, meaning that a a child of the warrior caste will physically mature into either a pilot, tanker, siren, or regular askari based on the sub-caste they have been assigned too. The child's physical and mental development in the crèche means a great deal in the sub-caste he or she will soon become a part of. Girls with largely unstable and hostile behavior patterns will find themselves sent to the Iron Maidens or Shadow Banshees, while a boy with good leadership skills may find himself placed under the wing of a noble, battlemaster or priest, who will bring him up in the ways of politics, war, or religion, and how to guide and protect those around him. Religion Religion is a major aspect of Xanian culture and society, with an entire caste devoted to the distilling and maintenance of Xanian religion. With a living god who's existence no sane Xanian is willing to doubt, the Xanians have a fanatical belief in their religion, and view themselves as the only species with the truth of a supernatural entity they claim created the universe. All Xanians adhere to the same religious beliefs, practicing the religion known as Zheani, meaning "faith" in the Xanian language. Zheani teaches that the Xanians are a transient species, who live and die at their own accord, but who have been granted the privilege of punishing all those species who refused to accept Zhauti's authority in their spiritual lives so many millions of years ago. This belief has been one of the forces driving Xanian expansion, and their infamous intolerance of non-believers, leading to the countless genocides executed by the Xanian race. The Xanians regard the priest caste, known as the ionaki, as the voice of Zhauti, speaking on his behalf and providing the direction the Xanians should move in in accordance to Zhauti's wishes. With scientific proof that their god truly does exist, not to say and Xanian doubted his existence to begin with, the ionaki are held to have equal parity with the noble zhazhaki caste, though not to the point where they literally govern the Xanian nation. Mentally, the Xanians have difficulty wrapping their minds around the concept of atheism, and find such attempts to understand it discomforting. The Xanians were never made to not have a belief in God, and therefore the very notion that God does not exist runs counter to the mental framework of the Xanian psyche. Therefore, in their society, atheism or general disbelief are equated to mental instability, which to the Xanians, is to be purged and destroyed, leading to the countless genocides committed by the Xanian Empire. Morals and taboos The Xanians are remarkably different from many of the species they encounter, primarily due to the alien morality and social mores maintained by the Xanian race. Many things other species would consider unacceptable and immoral would be regarded as completely upright by the Xanians. The first and foremost difference that is apparent to those allowed insight into Xanian society is their concept of love and relationships, primarily how sex and courtship operate within Xanian society. Sex and reproduction are completely divorced for Xanians, thanks to their biology, in which all reproduction is performed by the males asexually, and without any sexual actions or intercourse. While the Xanians do understand the concept of love, given the familial structure of their society, romantic relationships are unknown to the species, and thus disregarded by the Xanians. Therefore, the Xanians present a more casual approach to sexual relationships. Most other species would regard sexual intimacy as an indicator of a deep relationship between two people, while the Xanians simply regard it as a part of family and friendship. Siblings and friends would perform sexual acts as a sign of their relationship, especially for members within the same cadre, as a regular part of their life, thus making the concept of fidelity unknown to the Xanians. Such is Xanian sexuality, that the concept of a coupling is lost on the species. It is known for male Xanians or particularly territorial female Xanians, to identify one or more individuals as only their's to enjoy. For men, having multiple females under their direct control, a common practice in Xanian society, is relatively easy. One would only need to tell a woman that she belongs to him and him alone, though to enforce this, many men have a harem built into their personal residence to facilitate their partners. For women, it is common for them to partner up with fellow women given the lack of men in their species. Bisexuality is the natural course of behavior for females, though it is well known that men are the preferred partners for women given the great prestige that one could draw from their relationship. Because of this, many women are known to fight and kill one another for that honor, behavior fully acceptable by the Xanians. In spite of their sexual behavior, homosexuality remains totally condemned by the Xanians. Only among men is this behavior unacceptable, however, the reason lesbianism remains allowed has to do with the sexual organs available to females as opposed to the males. When combining Xanian honesty with Xanian promiscuity, the resulting effect is rather interesting. The Xanians do not bother with the process of courtship as a function of choosing a sexual partner. For them, one need only ask for sex to get it, Xanians seeking a change in pace may go the romantic route. In Xanian society, all Xanians within a household are literal brothers and sisters, while those outside of the household are cousins and extended family members. Incest has never been condemned by the Xanians for various reasons, most notably the manner of genetics and reproduction within the species. Also, the concept of strangers does not exist for the Xanians, meaning that one can speak to any other Xanian with complete openness, and ask for anything, including sexual intercourse, as easily as they would the time of day. As such, The Xanians think absolutely nothing of unisex showers and undressing in front others, including those of the opposite gender and differing ages. Modesty is non-existent within Xanian civilization, and privacy remains a vague concept reserved for those within the priesthood. If one Xanian were to walk into a room as another Xanian was undressing or taking a shower will begin talking and going about his or her business as if the event had never happened at all. As a species, the Xanians are completely desensitized to the concept of death. The Xanians believe that when one dies, their life spirit returns to Zhauti, the god who gave them life to begin with. Outside of their religious beliefs, every member of their is born for the tasks each caste must fulfill, and whether or not they die in the process of fulfilling their life's purpose is irrelevant. Each Xanian is easily replaceable and their numbers limitless; a Xanian father can easily have another child just as competent as that one who was lost in death. Though the Xanians possess the technology needed to resurrect members of their species with their consciousness intact, the Xanians often choose not too, preferring to allow their people to return to their god, except in cases where the individual was of considerable importance to his or her household. Regarding warfare, Xanian warriors have no qualms or emotional responses associated with killing innocent civilians, and will happily brutalize or kill non-combatants if it suits their desires. Likewise, taking Xanian hostages is not cost-effective, as the Xanians are more than willing to replace their losses with no regard to any warriors still left on a battlefield. Once again, the Xanians will allow any hostages taken by their enemies to die in captivity regardless of the situation. If the hostage is a zharuk, aurek, or a zhadak of high rank, the Xanians will expend the necessary resources required to get them back, and only then if truly necessary. Finally, theft and dishonesty are unknowns to the Xanians. The concept of stealing from a sibling or family member is outside of Xanian thought patterns, and only in the Houseless culture will such behavior be tolerate at any length, and only then as an act of survival. The brutal nature of Xanian law and order also helps to reduce theft in Xanian society. In most cases, however, the idea of theft simply doesn't occur to them. If a Xanian truly desires something, they will put in the effort to get it properly. Such honesty by the Xanians extends to their deeds as well. If Xanian says they will do something, it will be done. From the nobility to the workers, keeping one's word is paramount, it is looks bad on one's cadre, their family, and their household as a whole if they fail to do as they said. Trust is universal in Xanian society, though one most prove they are worthy of keeping such trust through their behavior. Xanians will keep to the letter of any agreement rather than the spirit if such behavior suits them, or speak in such a manner that conveys trust and willingness to fulfill an arrangement, but back out based on cleverly designed loopholes. Therefore, it should be noted that in spite of the fact that the Xanians disdain lying, and are rather trustworthy of others, they are not foolish, naive, or gullible. Category:Xanians Category:Sentient species Category:Copyright